A Wrinkle in Tony
by SilverEclipse119
Summary: Late one night, someone leaves a note written on Sketchbook. Now it's a race against space-time for Tony, Sketchbook, Yellow Guy and the others to follow the note and save Roy from a mysterious kidnapper. (Extremely loosely based off of 'A Wrinkle in Time') (dhmis) (AU)
1. Chapter 1

**Hucailluc**

 **Or**

 **How We Traveled Through Space and Time Using a Fridge**

All was quiet in the quaint little house. A storm raged outside, but all those inside were safely tucked in their beds, or sitting on their tables and counters, or hanging off their walls, or hiding in their cupboards; as was the way of the house's strange occupants.

Tony The Talking Clock was fast asleep in his place in the living room, just over the television set. The only sign that he was a living object was a faint snoring. He showed the time 4:40, as he often did, since he preferred to use his clock hands for a mustache instead of their intended use. He still could be counted on as a clock, however, for he knew what time it was by heart.

A roar of thunder and a piercing scream shook the house, knocking Tony off the wall. He sprouted his arms and legs in an attempt to catch himself, but instead landed in a tangled pile on the floor. He sprang up quickly and ran to the kitchen, where he believed the scream had emanated from. Sure enough, Sketchbook was sitting on the counter, her cover flipped over her face in what seemed to be and attempt to hide herself.

"Sketchbook, is something wrong?" Tony asked, approaching cautiously.

"It's nothing," she muttered. "Go back to sleep."

"What's going on?" Duck's head peaked into the kitchen.

"Don't worry about it..." Sketchbook muttered, but Tony took a step forward anyway.

One of the upper cupboards flipped open. "What's the matter?" asked Spinach Can.

"Ya, oh, what?" said Bread Boy in his singing tone, drumming lightly on his jars. He had been watching everything uneasily from the counter.

"Everyone, please, go back to sleep." Sketchbook sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

"Hello, what's happening in here?" Meat Man had finally decided to show his face as well.

Sketchbook sighed despondently, finally flipping her cover over. Her face was covered in writing, most likely from a sharpie marker. Her cheeks were dark grey and she stared at each one of them accusingly, her embarrassment seemingly evaporating in the wake of anger.

"Anyone care to confess?" she asked coldly.

Everyone replied with a chorus of "Wasn't me!"

"What the heck is going on here?" asked Red Guy, who had finally arrived in the kitchen to see what the fuss was about.

"Someone wrote on Sketchbook!" explained Spinach Can.

"Oh," said Red Guy. "Is that all?" He walked to the front of the group and stood in front of sketchbook. He reached out and grabbed her front page, and with one quick motion, ripped it out. Everyone gasped.

"Mumph!" mumbled Sketchbook, staring at him in surprise. He quickly grabbed a pencil and drew her mouth back on.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yeah." Sketchbook nodded.

"Good," he said. "Now, if we're done for the night, I would like to go back to be-" His sentence was cut off when something on the paper caught his eye. An all too familiar name stuck out amongst the writing: Roy.

"What?" he said, in a slightly surprised tone. This got everyone's attention, for Red Guy rarely showed emotions. The fact that he was clearly surprised caught everyone off guard.

"What's it say?" asked Duck, clearly intrigued.

Red Guy cleared his throat. "Ahem, it says, _We have Roy. If you ever want to see him again come to these coordinates._ And then there's a bunch of numbers."

"Did someone say dad's name?" asked Yellow Guy, who had also finally arrived in the kitchen. "Is he ok?" Roy had been missing for a few days, and though no one acknowledged it, everyone could see the lines of dry tears on Yellow Guy's face.

"We're not sure." said Red Guy. He placed the note on the counter, where Colin (who apparently had appeared without anyone realizing) picked it up and examined it. Red Guy once again leaned over to face Sketchbook. "Do you have any idea who wrote this note?"

"No sorry, I didn't even feel it being written. I just woke up all the sudden and I could smell the sharpie. I just connected the dots after that." she replied, sadly.

Everyone was quiet for a time, when suddenly Colin yelled in surprise, an exclamation point on his screen.

"What is it?" asked Red Guy.

"These coordinates! I just plotted them."

"And where do they lead?"

"Several billion light years into space, that's where!" Colin yelled. "I don't possibly know how Roy's kidnapper expects us to get there!"

"Dad's been kidnapped?!" exclaimed Yellow Guy. "Oh, what do we do!?"

"Maybe I can help."

Everyone turned to face the Fridge, who had so far been silent through this whole ordeal.

"What?" asked Yellow Guy.

"I said, maybe I can help."

"How?" asked Red Guy.

"I can get you to those coordinates." he replied.

"Pft, you!?" laughed Colin. "You can get us all the way to some distant planet on the other side of the universe? You!?"

"Well, not all the way." said Fridge thoughtfully.

"I should think not!" scoffed Colin. "Now, how are we-"

"Maybe just half way." Fridge finished, interrupting Colin. "And then someone can take you the rest of the way from there."

"What? That's ridiculous!" exclaimed Colin, "How in the world would you manage that?"

"With a Hucailluc of course!"

"A what?"

"A Hucailluc! I grab a piece of space time here." Fridge raised a hand to demonstrate. "And a piece of space time there." He reached forward. "And then I pull them together!" He made a forceful gesture in the air. "And then I let go of the piece here, kind of like a slingshot! It really comes in handy, because I don't have any legs!"

"That is the stupidest thing I ever heard!" yelled Colin, but nobody was listening to him anymore, they were all focused on Fridge.

"Okay," said Tony, taking charge of the situation. "What do you need us to do?"

"Well, you need to decide who's going. I can only carry four of you." replied Fridge.

"I'm going!" exclaimed Yellow Guy. "He's my dad, after all."

"Maybe I should go," said Tony. "This is space **time** , after all."

"If Tony's going then I'm going." said Sketchbook. "He's my friend and he may need my help!"

"Okay, one more. Who else?" asked Fridge.

"I can go." said Red Guy.

"Actually, um, maybe Colin should come." muttered Yellow Guy, to everyone's surprise. "He has the coordinates figured out after all, and whoever Fridge is taking us to needs them."

"Well, if you think so." said Red Guy.

"No!" yelled Colin. Everyone looked angrily at him, causing him to shrink away from their stares, sighing. " **Fine** , I'll go. But I would like to go on the record for saying I still think this is stupid."

"Okay everyone, grab on and hold on tight!" said Fridge. Tony placed Colin and Sketchbook on top of Fridge. They grabbed onto his forehead, but Colin rolled his eyes. Yellow Guy and Tony grabbed onto Fridge's sides.

"Are we ready?" asked Fridge.

"Wait," said Red Guy. He placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. He looked at Yellow Guy and then back at Tony. "Watch out for him, please." Red Guy then glanced thoughtfully at the other objects that were about to set off into the unknown. "Get everyone home safely."

Tony was surprised by his request, but he nodded anyway, and Red Guy let him go.

"Okay," Tony said to Fridge.

"Here we go!" Fridge exclaimed.

He retched his hand to the side and gripped the air, which folded slightly in his grasp like fabric. Pink sparkles drifted down from where reality had ripped around the edges of his fist. He reached forward, and a folded piece of realty appeared in his other hand, presumably from their destination.

"You know," said Colin, eyeing the two pieces nervously. "I'm starting to have second thought-EEEEEAAAA!" suddenly the Fridge pulled the two pieces of reality together, and released the one in the kitchen. Colin was cut off as they were catapulted through space and time.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Happy Universe**

Who was he?

Tony, he was Tony.

Where was he?

He was cold.

Is that a place? Cold?

He was also lonely. Is that a place?

Should he be lonely? Wasn't there someone who should be here?

Paper, pencil... a sketchbook.

Where was she? Was she cold too? Shouldn't she be here?

Why was he lonely? Where was his friend?

Weren't there others? Where were they? Were they lonely too?

Cold. It's so very cold.

How long has It been? What time is it?

I don't know.

* * *

Tony tumbled onto the orange grass. He took a minute, lying there, trying to get his thoughts back in order.

" _What happened?_ " he wondered, suddenly the memories came back. " _Sketchbook, the note, Fridge, the Hucailluc, right!_ "

Suddenly he recalled his experience during the Hucailluc. Tony opened his eyes, he needed to find Sketchbook. He sat up, with some difficulty, it felt like his joints were frozen. He finally realized just how cold he was, a small layer of frost was on his fingers and clock hands, quickly melting in the warmth of the planet's sun. The brightness of his surroundings forced him to close his eyes once again.

"Shame on you!" said an unknown voice. "I know you're a fridge, and sometimes you forget, but they needed a fair warning!"

"Look, I'm sorry. I truly don't know how cold it is." said Fridge, apologetically. "It simply slipped my mind."

"I remind you over and over and still you forget!" the other voice huffed. "I haven't been this mad since one of my student's told me that there aren't planets inside the moon. Like he knew anything!"

"Oh, hush about your students, they're coming to."

Fridge had spotted Tony sitting up, and soon enough they heard a digital groan, signaling the Colin was returning to the land of the living as well.

"What about that poor sketchbook? She still out cold. Er, pun not intended." said the mystery voice.

"You should take them all inside and get some blankets. Maybe make some hot drinks or start a fire."

"Oh, and I suppose you're leaving?"

"I'm not going to be any help just sitting here am I? Besides, the others will probably want to know that we made it."

"Fine, fine. Say hi to Lamp for me, ok?"

"Sure."

Suddenly there was a loud bang, and tony's eyes flew open to see a few pink sparkles drifting down onto the grass.

"Glad to see your up!" A smiling orange face appeared in front of Tony, causing him to cry out in surprise.

"Don't worry friend, it's just me!" the smiling face laughed. "Tony right? I'm Universe, Fridge told me about you."

"What?" asked Tony, still a bit groggy.

"You seem a little dazed. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Purple." replied Tony.

"Oh, what should I do? I know!" Universe exclaimed. "What's the time?"

"It's quarter to nine." said Tony, still not quite all there.

"Close enough." shrugged Universe.

"Ohhh, my head." groaned Colin. He was lying on his back, blinking.

Suddenly there was a scream. "The sky is red! We're all gonna die!" It was Yellow Guy.

"Keep it down, please!" muttered Colin angrily.

"Do not worry, small french fry child! The sky is always red here!" said universe, helping Yellow Guy to his feet. He took a moment to look Yellow Guy over. He was shivering violently.

"We should get inside." Universe said, quietly. "I'll carry the computer. Tony, can you carry the sketchbook?"

Hearing his friend's name finally snapped Tony fully back to reality.

"Where is she?" he asked, growing concerned.

"Over there." Universe pointed to a spot in the grass that had been just out of Tony's view. Tony gasped at what he saw.

Sketchbook was on her back in the grass, lying on her cover. Her eyes were closed, her face devoid of life. The only thing that proved she was still alive was her shuddering breath, which emitted a cloud of steam like on a cold winter's day.

Tony walked over and picked her up gently. Her pages were lined with frost and brittle to touch. He feared they might shatter if he wasn't careful. He turned to face Universe.

"Why?" It was all he could manage to say.

"I'll explain, but first, we have to get inside." he replied, his eyes filled with sympathy.

* * *

Tony sat on the couch, nursing a cup of tea. His eyes wandered over to Sketchbook on the coffee table, who was sitting on a hot water bottle. Her cover was flipped over her face, partly for warmth, and partly because Tony couldn't bear to see her in such a sad condition.

"Why?" he asked again.

The Universe, who had been sitting quietly on the couch next to him, sighed. "A Hucailluc, while a very quick and efficient way to travel long distances, comes with a price. During those few seconds of travel, the traveler is completely cut off from every other living thing in the universe. The more lonely a person gets, the colder they become. Fridge often forgets, because he's always cold. The cold also becomes more intense depending on the skill level of the one who performed the Hucailluc, and while Fridge is no amateur, he is by no means an expert."

He glanced over at Sketchbook. "She must have a lot of friends."

"Mmm." muttered Tony.

Universe clapped his hands. "All right, maybe we should get food to those who need it? You still have a long journey ahead of you."

Tony glanced up at the other members of his group. Colin was staring out of a window, no doubt contemplating what had just been said, as well as his own Hucailluc experience, but he was not the one Universe was referring to.

He glanced over at Yellow Guy, who had fallen asleep on his chair. Tony watched him thoughtfully.

"We should let him sleep," Tony decided. "We left pretty early this morning."

"Uh oh, I know that look." Universe shook his head, smiling. "You're getting attached."

"What?" Tony asked, confused. "That ridiculous, and you don't even know me, how would you know 'That look'."

"I've been around far longer than you, though it's been ages since I've taught. I've seen teachers come and go, and I've learned how to pick up on a few things." Universe smiled. "Let me lay it out for you. You teach a batch of students, and then hang around until, for better or for worse, the next batch comes along. Wash, rinse, and repeat. You never really get to know other teachers, or any of your students, because you are a clock, and it's in your nature to not waist time, which is what you deemed friendship; a waste of time."

"That seems about right," Tony replied. "It's not really my thing, to get **attached**."

"And yet, here you are." Universe pointed out. "Concerned about the well being of one of your students. So I ask you, what went differently this time around?"

Tony glanced over at Sketchbook, her breathing had become deeper, more restful. "I made a friend." he replied, simply.

Universe smiled once more. "Isn't that something."

Suddenly, a loud ' _boom_ ' thundered through the house, like someone had knocked on a large sheet of plastic. Yellow Guy and Sketchbook where startled awake, and Sketchbook lifted her cover off her face.

"What was that?" she asked, shakily.

Universe frowned. "Not something good."

Another boom echoed throughout the house.

"We need to go, now!" yelled Universe. "You! Computer! Show me the coordinates!"

Colin was too startled to object to being ordered around. He quickly brought up the coordinates and Universe studied them carefully.

"Okay," he said confidently. "I know where this is!"

A loud tearing sound resonated through the house and a large black rift appeared behind Colin. Colin screamed as several gloved hands reached through the rift and dragged him in.

"Don't touch meeeEEEEEE-" his digital cries were cut off as he was pulled into the oily blackness.

"Colin!" yelled Sketchbook, distressed at the violent disappearance of her friend. She jumped off of the table in an attempt to reach the rift, but Tony picked her up before she could go any further.

"We don't have time, I'm sorry." he whispered, attempting to console her.

"There's nothing you can do!" yelled Universe. He linked arms with Yellow Guy and Tony. "Everybody hold on tight!"

Universe grabbed a piece of nearby reality, and a piece from their destination appeared in this other hand, then he pulled them together, and let go.

Tony felt Sketchbook slip from his hands as he was once again flung into space and time.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Very Bad Place to Be**

Tony was more prepared for the Hucailluc this time. That in combination with the Universe's expertise made it much more bearable. Soon enough it felt like Sketchbook was returning to his hands. He even succeeded in landing on his feet in the teal grass. The planet was very dark, the sky was a prussian blue, though the sun's position signaled that is was still day here.

They had landed on a hill, which overlooked streets lined with houses. In the distance were a few white, dome shaped buildings, presumably at the city's center. Citizens of all kinds, puppet, animal, and object alike, wandered between the buildings and down the streets.

Universe whistled. "Wow, I wonder when this happened," he pondered. "The last time I was here, nothing lived here but a few gophers."

"Where is here?" asked Tony.

"Ah, yes." Universe waved his hands in a dramatic gesture. "Welcome, to Himeros!"

He pointed up at the sky. "This planet is closer to its sun than earth, so it has a thicker atmosphere, causing the sky to be darker." He pointed down at his feet. "And this grass is a shade of teal because it absorbs the rest of the sun's harmful radiation, so that things can live here."

"Never mind all that! What was that back there? What happened to Colin?!" Sketchbook demanded. She had recovered very quickly from the Hucailluc this time.

Universe sighed. "That was a Utollmi. It's a hole torn into space and reality in order to take something. It is similar to a Hucailluc, the difference being that you are taking something to you, instead of taking yourself to it."

"So, someone took Colin?"

"Well," Universe look sad. "The edges of that rift were very jagged, highly unprofessional. There's a high chance that he might not have survived the trip."

Sketchbook gasped.

"But, if he did, I suspect he's probably here. It would make sense." explained Universe. "Who ever your looking for may be looking for you too."

"But they left us a note." said Tony. "Why leave a note if they're just going to snatch us anyway?"

"I'm afraid I don't have all of the answers." replied Universe. "But you'll likely find them in there." He pointed at the largest white building in the distance.

"Okay," Tony said, thoughtfully. He turned to universe. "You should wait here, if something goes awry, we may need a secret quick getaway."

The Universe smiled broadly. "I was thinking the same thing!" He sat down on the hill with a thud.

The other three began walking towards the city when the Universe called out to them again. "Wait!" he yelled. "Small yellow child, I have something for you!"

Yellow Guy glanced at Tony nervously. Tony gave a reassuring nod and Yellow Guy ran back to the Universe. Tony paused " _Did I just, reassure him?_ " he wondered. He had never formally interacted with a student after a lesson before. Like the Universe had said, he simply bided his time until the next students came. When had he grown to become a person who could reassure Yellow Guy? Yellow Guy should have no reason to trust him, especially after the 'circumstances' of their first interactions.

As Yellow Guy approached Universe, Universe held out his hand. Sitting in the palm of his hand was a small toy train, no bigger than a brick. Its design was simplistic, it was just a locomotive, though it lacked many of the intricate details of one. The engine and the cab appeared to be made of silver, while the chimney, bell and wheels were made of bronze and, at the very front, the pilot seemed to be made of gold.

Yellow Guy stared, wide eyed at the little toy. "W-why," he stuttered. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"It's a gift, silly." the Universe laughed. Then he whispered. "It may come in handy, you never know."

Yellow Guy thanked Universe, then ran back over to Tony and Sketchbook. Tony placed Sketchbook on his back, and the three of them departed down the hill.

* * *

The minute they reached the suburbs, they knew something was wrong. No one acknowledged their arrival, or even looked at them.

As they glanced down the street, they could see into the front windows of the houses. Each house was identical, and in more than just appearance. Each house had a couple of grandparents sitting on a bench in front. Through the front windows they could see a couples watching a movie in the living room (and every house had the same movie). From what could be seen in the kitchen, young girls of varying ages were talking on corded phones, weaving the cord between their fingers. Upstairs, young boys of varying ages stared out of the window between texting.

"They're all following the same routine..." Sketchbook whimpered, clearly very upset at the lack of variety. The only thing that seemed slightly randomized where the individuals walking down the street, and even they were beginning to give Tony the creeps. They were all smiling. Some of them had wide, very nervous looking smiles, as if it was taking all of their strength to keep smiling. Other smiled far too brightly, their eyes vacant of any emotion other than pure happiness. Tony wasn't sure what was worse.

As they continued down the street, they eventually reached a park. As they walked though, Sketchbook suddenly spotted a familiar face.

"Tony look!" she pointed. "It's Gilbert!"

Sure enough, sitting on a park bench was Gilbert the globe. He seemed to be having an animated discussion with another globe sitting next to him. She (Tony assumed it was a she, because it was wearing a yellow bow) was a sandy brown and red color, and had no oceans, but she did appear to have ice caps.

"Gilbert?" asked Tony apprehensively, not wanting to intrude.

"Tony!" called out Gilbert happily. "You made it!"

"Yes?" replied Tony, though it was more a question than a statement. "How did you get here?"

Gilbert glanced around nervously. "It's a long story." he said dismissively.

"Gilbert, dear, aren't you going to introduce your friends?" asked the globe sitting next to him.

"Oh, yes, of course darling. Tony, Sketchbook, Yellow Guy, this is Marlee the Mars globe. Marlee, these are my friends Tony, Sketchbook, and Yellow Guy."

"Hello." the trio said in uncertain unison.

"Hi, pleasure to meet you!" giggled Marlee. "Gilbert has told me a little bit about you!"

Tony cleared his throat. "So, what are you doing here Gilbert?"

"I'm on a date!" exclaimed Gilbert.

"No, I meant- wait, what?" asked Tony, bewildered.

"Yep," Gilbert smiled. "This place may be awful, but at least something good came out of it!"

"Awww, your so sweet!" sighed Marlee.

"Oooookay, well," Tony clapped his hands together. "We should keep going. We wouldn't want be be a distraction."

As they continued on their way, Gilbert called out. "Bye, good luck finding Roy!"

* * *

The entryway to the white building was an open arch. Inside, people sat in a white room on pinkish white benches. The room was not very big compared to the rest of the building, and Tony suspected it was likely just a waiting room. The only problem with that theory was that there was not a door to be found, just smooth, white walls.

Sitting on the benches where the first people that they had seen who weren't smiling, or at least, not all of them were. While many were still smiling with an unrealistic happiness, others were dejected, exhausted, or angry. In the far corner, a canary was trying to comfort a bawling pink puppet lady.

"Sit down, you're making me nervous." A chattering voice came from behind them. They turned around to see a harry green man, not unlike Red Guy. He was shaking from head to toe.

"What is everyone waiting here for?" Tony asked.

"I don't know what they're all here for, but I'm here because the blushing smiley emoji on my computer is stuck, and needs oil." he chattered.

"Is that really so important?" asked Sketchbook.

The green guy looked up at them incredulously. "Of course it is! A jammed emoji could lead to jammed emotions, and that would be a disaster!"

"Well, whatever." Tony waved his hand. "We need to get inside this building. Do you know how?"

He pointed to a slot in the wall that had a little piece of paper sticking out. "Take a number."

Tony grabbed a tab. "46." he read.

One of the walls lit up with a ping. A large 8 was projected on it in red. The canary and pink lady from the corner of the room walked up and presented their paper to the wall. The 8 turned green and the wall vanished. The couple hurried through and the wall reappeared once again.

The green guy held up his paper, it said 28. "I've been here since last Tuesday." he chattered.

"Well, I'm not going to wait that long." Tony grumbled. He walked up to the wall that had previously been open and knocked. To his surprise, the wall made a ' _floof floof floof_ ' sound. "It's made out of compressed clouds!" he exclaimed. He began pushing his hand into it, and it squashed reluctantly.

"Don't make me report you!" The green guy yelled.

Suddenly, Yellow Guy butted in. "Actually, how about you report us." Tony and Sketchbook stared at him in surprise. He withdrew from the sudden attention, twiddling his fingers. "I-I mean, if you report us, then we'll have to see who's in charge right away, right?"

"Well, yes." chattered the green guy.

"So," Yellow Guy held up his hands in fake defeat. "Report us."

Tony raised his hands too, as did Sketchbook (all though she only raised one, because she needed the other to hold onto Tony.).

Grumbling, the green guy walked to the wall and pressed his hand against it. A red square shape lit up around his hand and he muttered something under his breath. The square turned green, and the wall vanished, leaving the open archway.

"Well, step to it!" the green guy chattered, before walking through the door.

The trio glanced at each other nervously, then followed their captor into the building.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Red Eyed Guy**

An unusual feeling swept through the trio as they walked through the newly created entryway. It felt tingly, almost like static, and all three of them balked. Sketchbook jumped slightly on Tony's back, before whispering, "I think you can put me down now."

Tony complied, and to his surprise, found that Skechbook had sprouted legs. The two of them looked at each other uncertainly, before finally facing the hallway ahead, and hurried to follow the green guy, who had not stopped when they had.

He lead them into a large auditorium, where several shadowy figures were working rapidly a large machine. In the center was a raised stage, with a large red velvet chaise longue sitting in the center under a spotlight. Lying on the longue was none other than:

"Colin!" Sketchbook cried out.

Colin seemed to take no notice of the sudden outburst. He was in his digital form, lying on his back, his floating head leaning against the back part of the chaise longue. He ran his fingers down his keyboard, making an obnoxious strain of clicking noises. Suddenly, he jumped to his feet.

"I've got it!" He yelled in triumph, before pressing several of his keys, causing a few sentences to appear on his screen. "It's absolutely perfect, oh just wait till you hear it darling!"

He reached behind the chaise longue and, to everyone's ever increasing surprise, pulled out Laptop. She was in her digital form too, and she looked at Colin with a forced smile as he placed her on the longue. "What is it?" she asked.

"Oh just the most perfect poem for you!" He cleared his throat before continuing. "Ahem, _Your beautiful hardware is as soft as the most luxurious felt, my love! Your pupils are the deepest shade of the most beautiful sharpie marker, my sweet! Your wallpaper captures the most pure beauty of nature, my little sunshine! And your programming contains all of the best properties of kindness, my jewel!_ "

"Aww, Colin, that so sweet." Laptop replied, in a not too convincing tone. Colin seemed unable to sense her hesitation, however.

"Thank you, my adorable little pixel!" he squealed, before picking her up and kissing her on the forehead. She gritted her teeth into a painful looking smile.

Sketchbook was the first to snap out of her shock. "Colin, what the heck are you doing!?" she yelled. Colin finally took notice of the three of them, he turned toward them, placing Laptop back on the longue.

"Oh, hi sketchbook! And Tony and Yellow Guy! Long time no see!"

Tony was the second to snap out of his trance. "Long time no see!? It's been barely a few hours! We thought we had lost you back at the Universe's house! Or worse, that you were dead!"

"Well, not to worry, not to worry. As you can see, I am perfectly fine!" Colin declared.

"You don't seem fine!" Sketchbook yelled back. "Since when do you write uncreative poetry, and call call Laptop your darling, or kiss her for that matter!"

"Simple," he replied. "I have been enlightened to my love for my sweet darling!"

"You told me you didn't feel love, because you were a computer!" Sketchbook was practically screaming now, and Colin seemed caught off guard.

"Well, you… see… I, um…" Colin's stuttering response was suddenly cut off. With a soft pop, his screen turned off. He stood dazed for a moment, blinking his eyes, when suddenly they started glowing red. His jaw fell slack and a frighteningly familiar voice came out, despite the fact that he clearly was not speaking.

"Sorry I took so long," said Shrignold, his voice slightly digitized. "I was dealing with a… a love crisis."

"I should have known." sighed Tony, as Yellow Guy tried, unsuccessfully, to hid behind him.

"Shrignold! What have you done to Colin!" Sketchbook demanded.

"I thought he told you," said Shrignold, quizzically. "I enlightened him."

"He told me computers couldn't feel love!"

"Computers can be reprogramed," he said, sternly. "Or in this case, the program can be loaded onto the computer." Shrignold turned Colin's head slightly, and revealed that there was a flash drive sticking out of one of the ports on the side of his head. The flash drive was labeled: Love. Sketchbook gasped.

"Well, if I makes you feel any better, he did put up one heck of a fight," mused Shrignold. "We had to plug him into the main power grid and give him a couple of surges. He screamed bloody murder, but it got him under control. He couldn't even raise and arm after that."

"You monster!" yelled Tony.

"Says the guy who rotted his students alive." Shrignold laughed, an altogether too happy sound.

"It was an accident!" Tony feebly tried to defend himself. He knew it was no accident, but he was unable to control his power if his students missbehaved. He had grown used to it over the years, but it still always filled him with an angry disappointment. Why wouldn't they just stop asking questions? It would be so much easier for all of them if they did.

"Isn't it always?" Shrignold scoffed. "But please, we're all teachers here," He paused, directing Collins glowing red eyes toward Yellow Guy, who shivered. "Almost all of us, anyway. So let's handle this in a civilized manner." He raised Colin's hand and snapped his fingers. Several of the shadowy figures ran over and put mugs of steaming hot liquid in each of the trio's hands, before retreating back to the dark corners they had sprang from.

Yellow Guy stared down at his with suspicion. It was brown, and smelled sweet, but he was not sure he could trust it. He took a careful sip. It was hot Chocolate! The taste of the sweetness hitting his tongue was enough to remind him that he had not eaten since the previous day. He drank it greedily.

Tony took a sip of his, and found, to his surprise and delight, that it was a smooth, rich tea, with just a little honey, exactly the way he liked it.

Sketchbook was the only one who had not tried her drink, she looked up at Shrignold/Colin with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm made of paper, remember?" she asked, bluntly.

"Pft, you're in the digital world now, I'm sure you can manage." replied Shrignold. "Or did you think you just sprouted legs of your own accord?"

Sketchbook tentatively lifted the cup to her pencil drawn mouth. She succeeded in taking a sip, but immediately spit it out.

"Blea!" she gagged, examining the cup more closely. "Is this just water with green food coloring?"

"Humm?" Colin robotically came over to take a closer look. "Huh, indeed it is," he looked to the side. "And what do you know, so is everyone else's."

As Colin returned to the stage, Tony leaned over to Sketchbook. "Here, try some of this." he said, giving her his own mug. She took a sip of it too, but spat it out once again.

"Ugg, nasty." she sputtered. "Why can everyone else taste it and not me?"

"Well, you certainly seem to have the strongest mind of the three of you." Shrignold contemplated. "You seem to be fighting the power of the digital world, whether you mean to or not."

"Really…" said Sketchbook thoughtfully. She stared hard into Colin's glowing red eyes. Suddenly he shook and twitched, his mouth moving of his own accord.

"Help… me…"

"Wow, Impressive," Colin's mouth fell open again, Shrignold's voice once again coming through. "But are you sure you want to take this head on?"

"Bring it!" yelled sketchbook, dropping her mug on the floor; it didn't break.

"Wait!" Tony put and arm on Sketchbooks shoulder. "He's right, I can see you're powerful here, but this could backfire badly."

"I can do this, I know I can!" said Sketchbook, shaking Tony off and locking her eyes once again with the red ones.

As they stared at each other, Colin began to twitch again, and his mouth once again fell under his control.

"Help… me… can't… fight… can't hold him… Sketch… please… don't… you must… save yourseeeeEEEEEEEE...!" the last word faded into a scream as the whites of Colin's eyes pulsed red. Sketchbook and Colin were blown backwards by an unseen force, with Sketchbook falling into Tony's arms.

"Sketch?" Tony asked uncertainly. "Did you win?"

"I… d-definitely won," Tony sighed in relief, before Sketchbook continued. "I won enlightenment!" she flipped around in his arms, planting a passionate kiss on his lips. He dropped her in surprise, and she fell onto her back on the floor. She stood up, in an almost robotic way before walking over to the mug she had dropped earlier. She picked it up and took a sip of the replenishing liquid.

"Mmmm, citrus tea!" She sighed in happiness. She turned to face Shrignold/Colin, who had managed to get back on his feet, his eyes still glowing red. "Thank you for teaching me the ways of love, Shrignold!" she said.

"My pleasure, honestly." He replied. "Now, what brought you here in the first place?"

"We came here searching for Roy, master." replied Sketchbook.

Tony leaned over to Yellow Guy. "Did she just call him 'master'?" He asked. Yellow Guy shrugged.

"Oh, is that all?" Shrignold laughed his too happy laugh. "Well, take them to him. You should know the way now."

"Yes, master." she replied, putting down the mug and heading toward one of the many branching halls exiting the room. She beckoned the others to follow, and blew a kiss at Tony, who grimaced.

"See you all soon I'm sure." said Shrignold. Colin's jaw closed, and he blinked rapidly again, the red gone from his eyes. His computer screen booted up again, and displayed a picture of a heart.

"What was I doing again?" he asked himself, he looked at Laptop who was still sitting on the longue, her hands on her face in what seemed to be a prolonged facepalm. He seemed to not notice. "Oh, well," he sighed. "It doesn't matter as long as you're here with me!" He picked her up again, placing one hand on her side and one in her hand. "How about some digital ballroom dancing?" A rose appeared in his mouth, and he began to waltz her around the room.

Walking down the hallway, Tony listened as the techno waltz music faded away in the distance.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This was actually the first chapter I ever wrote for this fanfiction. For some reason, I just couldn't get the image of Colin as the red eyed man out of my head, so I wrote it down and the rest of the fic fell into place around it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Tin Lamp**

Tony followed Sketchbook begrudgingly as she skipped down the hall. Every once in awhile she would turn around to blow him a kiss or smile just a little too sweetly.

Yellow Guy shuffled along behind, not wanting to get too close if Tony lost his temper.

"Aww, you're so grumpy today, mon amour?" giggled Sketchbook.

Tony raise an eyebrow. "Why are you speaking french all the sudden?"

"Because fancy words are romantic! Master Shrignold just taught it to me!" Sketchbook replied, a little too happily.

"Well, stop it." grumbled Tony.

"Would you rather I called you 'il mio amore' or maybe 'meine Geliebte'?" Sketchbook teased, grinning. Tony sighed.

Yellow Guy finally decided to try and step in. "Miss Sketchbook, please. Can we just hurry to my dad?"

Sketchbook shot him a harsh glare. "Patience, paysan!"

" **That** is definitely not romantic." chuckled Tony.

Sketchbook turned her attention back to him, grinning happily once again. "You might be playing hard to get, but you'll be mine soon!" she said in a sing song voice.

"Yeah right." Tony muttered.

"Oh, you'll see the light, and then we'll be united by a ring in loving harmony." Sketchbook cooed. "Just you wait!"

Tony snorted. "Shrignold hasn't done one good thing here. You saw Colin, being forced to love against his will! And everyone outside! They were terrified! What good has he done to them?"

"Oh, but just look!" exclaimed Sketchbook. She waved her hand at one of the walls and it became transparent. Tony gasped.

Behind the wall was a room with grey walls dotted with red hearts decos, and sitting inside was Lamp and Spinach Can. They were sitting across from each other, holding both of each other's hands. Spinach Can jumped when she saw the trio observing them, and accidentally dropped one of Lamps hands. Suddenly the red hearts turned yellow, and a buzzing sound filled the air. The two of them cried out in pain and Lamp quickly grabbed Spinach Can hand.

"Careful!" he yelled, gasping. "You broke the connection!" The buzzing sound stopped, and the hearts turned red once again.

"Seeeee?!" squealed Sketchbook. "So romantic!"

Tony clenched his fist. It took all of his will power to remind himself that Sketchbook was brainwashed, or else he was certain he would have punched her to June 20th. Instead he decided to question the unhappy couple before him.

"What are you two doing here? I thought we left you back at the house." He taped on the space where the wall had been. It was still there, just transparent. There was likely little he could do for them at this point.

"After you left," Lamp began. "This loud pounding noise started. And then these rift things showed up. Fridge came back and tried to help, but I was still in the bedroom. I was too far away."

"I was up in the cupboard." added Spinach Can. "No one could reach me in time."

Tony began to connect the dots. "And laptop was in the living room, as well as Gilbert. That's how they got here."

"But we haven't seen Red Guy, Meat Man, Duck, or Bread Boy so we hope they might have gotten out safely." added Lamp.

"Shrignold was angry when he saw us, he said was trying to get you and Sketchbook." Spinach Can explained.

"Why us?" asked Tony. "And besides, he left us that note. He should have known that at least some of us would follow it."

"He was mad because he had left that note before realizing you had no way to get here." explained Lamp. "He wanted you two first because he 'knew you were destined for each other' or something. Then he looked at the rest of us and said he would have to make do. We've been in here ever since."

"Um, is something up with Sketchbook?" asked Spinach Can.

Tony finally realized that Skechbook had been attempting to cuddle up to him, much like a cat. He pushed her away, irritated.

"Brainwashing." he grumbled.

"Oh." Lamp and Spinach Can said together.

"Okay, enough now, bye!" said Sketchbook quickly. She waved her hand and the wall became opaque once again.

"What did you do that for?" exclaimed Tony.

"Their romanticness was distracting you." she said simply, grabbing Tony's hand. He tried to twist his hand away, but Sketchbook had a very firm grip.

"Come on, αγάπη μου, we still have a long, romantic walk to Roy's cell, and I don't want to waste a minute of it." she pulled him close and kissed him on the cheek.

Tony wiped his cheek with his free hand. " _Great, now she's speaking greek._ " he thought.

* * *

It took them far longer than Tony would have liked to reach their destination, and he was certain that Sketchbook had lead them in circles a few times, just to make it last longer. She still had an iron grip on his hand, and he had been pondering if he should just slip his hand out of the glove and make a break for it. Sadly, Sketchbook was the only one who knew where Roy was.

She pressed her other hand to one of the walls, and it disappeared, much like the entrance to the building. Behind the wall was a cylinder of glass, and suspended inside was Roy.

"Dad!" Yellow Guy ran up and pressed his face against the glass. Roy's eyes were closed, his face in its regular neutral expression. An occasional finger twitch and heavy breathing proved he was still alive, though likely in a suspended state.

Yellow Guy turned around and ran back to Sketchbook. "Let him out, please."

"Oh, no. My orders were to take you to him, not let him out. Don't worry, when master Shrignold finds him his special one, he'll be free." She reached out to grab Yellow Guy's shoulder. "Now come along, your special one is waiting and I have a fiancé to marry." She batted her eyelashes at Tony, who gagged.

Yellow Guy slapped away Sketchbooks hand. He ran back to the cell and started pounding on the glass. "Dad, I'll help you!"

"Don't be silly, you'll never get through that with you bare hands." chided Sketchbook.

Yellow Guy remembered the toy train that the Universe had given him. " _It may come in handy, you never know._ " He had said.

He pulled it out of his pocket, and a loud whistle sounded from the train. It was glowing.

"What is that? Give that to me!" demanded Sketchbook. She let go of Tony's hand and began to approach Yellow Guy.

He placed the train between both of his hands and raised them into the air. Another whistle sounded, and he brought it down with all of his strength. The train in his fingers raced forward, light streaking behind his hands.

The sharp point of the pilot met with the glass, and the cell shattered.


	6. Chapter 6

**Malcolm**

When the dust cleared, Roy was kneeling, hugging his son. The cell laid around their feet in a million pieces, and for a moment, all was quiet and peaceful.

Then the alarms began to sound. Walls appeared along the corridor, sealing them in.

"Now you've done it!" yelled Sketchbook. She tugged angrily at her face. Hooking a few of her fingers under her left eye, she tore off a strip of paper from the eye to the bottom of her face, screaming in pain and anger. Tony watched with horror as the strip gently floated to the ground.

"Stop, you're hurting yourself!" Tony reached out a hand, but Sketchbook swatted it away.

"You made me fail a direct order from Emperor Shrignold! King Malcolm will have my cover for this!" she shrieked, beginning to grasp at her right eye as well.

Suddenly the alarms stopped. Her grip loosened from her face and her eyes began to glow red.

"I am...disappointed." The voice was calm. Though it was emanating from Sketchbook it was clearly not hers. Tony had no doubt who it belonged to.

"Nonetheless, I suppose you simply don't understand yet, but I can fix that. Follow her, she will lead you." There was a pause. "And don't even think about disobeying, or she will tear herself to shreds." Sketchbooks eyes returned to normal, and she sunk to her knees. Tony approached cautiously.

"Sketch, you… alright?"

She looked up quickly, her eyes glistening, her face embedded with an all too familiar smile. "I have been forgiven." she sighed. "Come along now, we must go." She got to her feet, kissing Tony gently on the cheek before turning to one of the walls, which disappeared before her.

Tony wiped his cheek gently. He was still annoyed with Sketchbook's brainwashed antics, but he was glad she wasn't freaking out any more.

He followed her with uncertainty, with Yellow Guy and Roy trailing behind. None of them wanted to follow her, but all of the other walls had sealed off, and Sketchbook's life was in forfeit if they disobeyed. They had no choice.

The walls disappeared before them, and reappeared behind them. Finally one of the walls opened to the outside. It had grown dark during their time in the building, the sky now a more of a deep purple. Outside was a alleyway lined with a tall barbed wire fence. On the other side was another, much smaller building.

Sketchbook stopped suddenly. "I'll lose my legs when I go outside." she turned to Tony and batted her eyelashes. "Carry me."

Tony took a step back, uncertain on what to do. They could not progress without Sketchbook, but he did not want to be subjected to carrying her in her current state. Roy glanced between them. Between his knowledge of the talking objects and what he had learned from his time on Himeros, it didn't take him long to silently connect the dots. He stepped forward and picked up Sketchbook, moving beyond the outside barrier before she could object.

"Fine." she pouted as her legs disappeared. She turned to grin at Tony. "But I'll get you yet my sweetie!"

Tony shivered, not just from the cold. It was a long silent walk to the other building, and Tony dreaded to see what was inside this one. If Shrignold was so adamant to get them there, it was probably not a good sign. Several times, Tony found his eyes drawn to Sketchbook, but he always regretted looking at her. If she caught him looking, she would give him a 'cute' wink. If she didn't, Tony would see what remained of the left side of her face blowing in the wind. Both sights filled him with disgust, and guilt.

Far too soon, they reached the other side of the alleyway. Roy carried Sketchbook forward so she could touch the building. Unlike in the others, the door did not simply disappear, but instead noisily lifted with the grinding of pulley and gears. Once they were inside, the door crashed down behind them.

The room was dimly lit, and Tony squinted to try to make out the shape in the distant darkness. Suddenly the entire room lit up at once. Everyone except Sketchbook shielded their eyes from the intense yellow light. A single ancient intercom speaker crackled to life, the calm and frighteningly gentle voice of Shrignold echoing through.

"Welcome, to Malcolm's throne room!"

Across the room on a there was a few stairs up to a small stage, on top of which sat Malcolm. The stone head was idly chewing on a mouthful of gravel, and paying no heed to the four newcomers. He didn't even look at Sketchbook who, with her legs returned, had jumped from Roy's hands and flopped face first on the ground in front of him.

"Get up, Shrigbook, and sit on Malcolm's stairs." Sketchbook obliged, crawling up a few steps and sitting contentedly.

"Now for the rest of you." said Shrignold nonchalantly, as if he had done whatever this was many time before (and in deed he had).

All of the lights in the room turned red, causing the remaining trio's eyes to squint again. They turned yellow once more, then back to red. Yellow, red, yellow, red... The pattern continued. Tony realised that the rapidly changing light was starting to leave dark imprints in his eyes, like cloudy black smoke.

In an unusual turn of events, Malcolm actually took notice of the changing lights, grunting along with the rhythm. Yellow (grunt), red (grunt), yellow (grunt), red (grunt).

Tony's eyes widened with fear when he realized what this was. It was a pattern, a rhythm, four beats in a measure of a song, the beating of a heart, the ticking of a clock. **The** pattern, **the** rhythm.

The only way to fight was to break from the rhythm. Tony did the first thing that came to mind.

"Time is a tool you can put on the wall, or wear it on your wrist!" He made an effort to sing just a little bit faster than the tempo of the room, creating a momentary disconnect between the two. He continued to sing as he tried to quickly think up some way for them to escape. The large door behind them was shut tight, and judging by the complicated rigging system, I was likely very heavy.

Then there was Sketchbook. He would have to try and grab her before they left, and he couldn't even convince his feet to move. He reached out in her direction, but she didn't seem to acknowledge him. He had to save her, she had followed him into this mess in the first place. He just wanted to be back home, he wanted to be sipping tea in the living room, or annoying Red Guy, or sitting on the porch watching the sunset kissing Sketchbook, doing anything, being anywhere but…

He paused in his thoughts. Watching the sunset with Sketchbook? Yes he had done that, but now that he thought about it, he didn't recall kissing Sketchbook afterwards…

He snapped out of his thoughts in a panic. "Time...can...be...told...by..."

He was still singing, but somewhere along the way he had began singing in the much slower tempo of the room. It was starting to get to him, it was affecting his memories. Long walks on the beach, swinging in the park, watching a romantic movie, all with Sketchbook. Things that his fading logic told him had never happened. He had to do something to distract himself.

"Reh Reh Reh!" he began to yell, a last ditch attempt at defiance. "Reh Reh Reh!" The black smoke covered most of his eyes, the only thing still visible was Sketchbook, who smiled warmly at him. "REH REH REH!"

Soon his yelling began to slow down. It was over, his last bit of defiance draining. He looked once again at Sketchbook. " _Look how beautiful she is, how I l-love her…_ "

Somewhere behind him, Roy yelled something to Yellow Guy, though Tony didn't catch it. He felt someone grab his hand, and then he felt his body being sliced to pieces by cold shards of ice.


	7. Chapter 7

**Aunt Red**

"All I'm saying is that I don't think batteries are that healthy. They could make his gears go grey. I say we pour white sauce over him!"

"Yeah!"

"Oh, shut up both of you."

Tony's consciousness floated in a black void. He could hear the voices, but he could not reply. He attempted to open his eyes, but they would not listen. He couldn't even feel his arms and legs, though he sensed that they were present. He could hear a faint whirring sound, like the distant hum of a motor. It slowly faded away again.

* * *

"His finger twitched!"

"Good. Go tell your dad."

Yes, just for a moment there he had broken out of his dark prison. It had taken all of his will to move that one finger. He listened to the whirring as he faded back into sleep again.

* * *

"I think he's coming to!"

Tony's eyes finally bent to his will and opened, only to be treated to more darkness. He cried out, in both anger and fear. Had he gone blind?

"Easy there, calm down." the monotonous voice was surprisingly reassuring. He felt two hands grip his sides and lift him gently. Soon a wall with a window came into view, the distant orange landscape and red sky a breath of fresh air compared to the darkness he had been in. "See? No need to panic, you were only upside down."

Tony attempted to roll over, but Red Guy stopped him. "No, don't. Your back is still open and the bed sheets will get stuck in your gears."

He picked him up and sat him down on the edge of the bed. "Can you sit up?" Tony nodded. "Good, I'll go get your back."

He left the room, leaving Tony to his thoughts, which were very few, and were quickly interrupted.

"Glad to see you're alright." Duck was sitting in a rocking chair across the room.

"What happened?" asked Tony.

"Do you not remember?" asked Duck.

"I remember up until Shrignold… sent us to see Malcolm. Then ice. And then a few bits and pieces."

"Hmmm." Duck hummed, thoughtfully. The rocking chair creaked back and forth beneath him. "You came back in rough shape. Something having to do with you leaving… **her** behind, and that Malcolm's brainwashing had made you 'love' … **her**. Plus, Roy is very inexperienced with creating Hucaillucs, him and Yellow Guy showed up with a nasty layer of frost on their skin, though Roy was the only one who sustained frostbite. You, on the other hand, had more than just little frost. You were frozen right down to the core. Your gears were coated in ice."

Tony had not realized how close he had come to facing his doom. If his gears had been thawed improperly, they might have rusted.

"Red Guy took very good care of you, much to my surprise actually. He spent nearly an entire night with a blow dryer and a towel, carefully thawing and drying you gears. You have him to thank for saving your life."

Just then, Red Guy reentered the room holding Tony's back, a handful of screws and a screwdriver. He sat down beside Tony, who turned his open back towards him. As Red Guy began reattaching his back, Tony thought about Duck's words. Red Guy had never really liked him, as far as he could tell. Yet, he had been the one who had put all of his effort into saving him, and… **she** hadn't even been there to ask him for help. He had done it of his own accord.

"There you go." said Red Guy, patting Tony's back. "All back to normal."

Tony sat silently for a few seconds. Finally he turned to face Red Guy.

"Thanks." he said. Red Guy nodded. "But, if I may ask… why?"

Red Guy looked thoughtful for a moment. "You're not the first to ask me that question, or something like it. Yellow Guy asked it when we allowed him and his father to stay at our house after their apartment got condemned. Some friends of mine asked it, when I gave them a large sum of money, despite not having too much myself. Duck asked me, after I saved him from a dangerous criminal."

He paused to look up at Duck, who let out a chuckle. "Fine mess of tar and feathers, that one. You remember the Money Man, don't you Tony?"

Tony shivered. "How could I forget?" They had been lucky that there had been some people kind enough to fund a rescue kickstarter for Roy, otherwise they might have been toast.

Red Guy continued. "Why did I do it? Because He needed a place to stay, because they needed it for food, because he was my friend. Do I need a better reason?"

"Some people would think so." muttered Tony. Red Guy frowned, a hard to see expression, but definitely there. He stood up and stat down on a stool next to the bed, likely the one he had been using while helping Tony. He pushed Tony back onto his back, and pulled the covers of the bed over him. "Let me tell you a story."

* * *

 _Once upon a time, there was a small Red Child who knew very little of the world. One day he had been walking with his friends when they had spotted an old man from the village sleeping under a tree. He had removed his shoes, and the children though it would be funny if someone stole his socks, so they dared their red friend to do it._

 _The Red Child snuck up to the old man and took his socks, not realizing that he man had a good sense of hearing, and was only pretending to be asleep after the Child had awoken him. As the child returned to his friends, he noticed the old man glaring at him._

 _A few days later, the Child and his friends were playing by a river when the Red Child slipped off the bank. He clung onto the rocks of the cliff like bank to keep from falling off into the rushing river. He cried out to his friends for help, but they ran away home and told no one of his plight, because they didn't want to get in trouble for being so close to the river._

 _The rocks were wet and slippery from the spray of the river, and the rushing water splashed viciously at his ankles. His hand slipped from the rock and he began to fall._

 _Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed the Child by his arm, and the old man lifted the child back onto the shore._

 _"Thank you sir," said the child. "But why did you help me? After all, I stole your socks."_

 _"A long time ago," replied the old man. "I stole an old lady's hat. The very next day I tripped on the street and that old lady saved me from being trampled by a horse. I asked her the very same question. And you know what she said?"_

 _The Red Child shook his head._

 _"She said, 'you needed help, so I helped you.' My answer to you is the same, you needed help, so I helped you. Though, I do hope you learned something. You seem like a nice kid. Don't let others make you do something you know is wrong. Right injustices in the world when you see them."_

 _The Red Child stared up at the clouds. "Okay."_

 _The next day he returned the old man's socks._

* * *

The room was silent for a few moments, except for the creaking of Duck's rocking chair.

"Did," Tony asked, hesitantly. "Did the Red Child live happily ever after?"

"Not entirely." replied Red Guy. "He was lonely at first, because he realized his friends were a bad influence. But he found a someone in his village who was also lonely, so he helped them by being a friend. He also had to learn that there were times when helping would hurt, for him or for the one he was helping. He had to put one of his old friends in jail once. They still keep in touch."

He leaned toward Tony, a glimmer of mirth in his eyes. "Last I heard, he was kidnapped by talking objects."

Tony looked away, surprised at his guilt. He had never thought much of his students before. Batch goes in, batch goes out, batch goes in, batch goes out, nothing more. It hadn't occurred to him that they had had a life before they had mysteriously come into the house. Sketchbook really had opened his eyes.

" _Sketchbook_." he thought, as he drifted to sleep.

* * *

 **Author's note:** I'm going to be going on a bit of a... hiatus, I suppose. Spring break has started and I'm headed out to visit some relatives who don't have wifi, or any sort of internet connection. I'll be gone for a little over a week, but I should have the next chapter ready as soon as I get back.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Mistaken and the Forgiven**

Tony walked into the large area that the other had been calling the dining room. His footsteps echoed through the large dome shaped room, the walls of smooth rock keeping it cool despite the planet's harsh sun. Red Guy, Duck, Meat Man, Bread Boy, and the Universe where sitting around the large round table in the center. Fridge was sitting against one of the walls, and Yellow Guy was watching his dad play solitaire on a small table to the side.

It had turned out that they had been staying in a modified cave. It had several rooms with drywall, but many of them used the natural stone of the cave. Very few of the rooms had windows, the one Tony had been in being one of them. Duck had explained that the natural stone kept them hidden from Shrignold and his cult's attempts at reaching them with a Utollmi.

Tony had awoken very refreshed from his sleep, and had managed to stand up and walk with ease. When Red Guy was satisfied that he had made a full recovery, he had decided to call a meeting together to figure out how they were going to rescue Sketchbook, as well as the others.

Meat Man and Duck were already arguing when Tony had entered.

"Look, I just think that we should go in, metaphorical guns blazing." explained Meat Man.

"No!" Duck yelled back. "We need to be stealthy about this. You heard Yellow Guy, that place in a technological maze! How would you even find them?"

"I would know where they were." Meat Man replied, his voice deep. "I would feel it in my soul!" He jabbed at Duck with his fork.

"Back off!"

"Okay," Tony interrupted loudly. "Since I hope we'll come up with better plans than that, let's just call Meat's plan, plan C, alright?"

Everyone around the table nodded. Tony walked over and took a seat. Red Guy followed and took one as well.

"Okay," Red Guy started. "We know that Shrignold has taken several hundred people hostage, including our friends. We also know that he currently has Colin guarding what is likely the powerhouse of the city. Those are our facts"

Everyone nodded again.

"We suspect that he has left Sketchbook to guard Malcolm. We also suspect that those of his population that are hypnotized are likely at his beck and call."

Everyone nodded a third time.

"We suspect that Malcolm is likely in charge of those who are hypnotized. If we can concentrate our force on him, we will likely be able to save everyone." He looked around. "How do we do that?"

"Well I say…" started Meat Man, but Tony raised his hand to silence him.

"I think you've said enough." Meat man crossed his arms and huffed.

"You should go in stealthily." explained Duck. "Sneak over to the building with Malcolm in it and destroy him first!"

"How would we get the door open?" Tony asked.

"Bring the strongest of us with you and lift it from the outside!" Meat Man chimed in.

"This seems impractical…" Tony muttered.

"You have a better idea?"

"I suppose not." Tony sighed. "If only Sketchbook were here, she'd come up with something more creative." he muttered under his breath. Roy's bandaged hands moved a little faster.

"Okay, so I'll go." said Red Guy. "I may not look it, but I've done some stealthy missions in the past. Well, one stealthy mission."

"I'll go too!" exclaimed Meat Man. Duck raised an eyebrow. "I'll have you know that I am a proud defective teacher, and one of my defects is my freakish strength, so there!"

"Okay, so what are we going to do about Sketchbook?" Red Guy asked. The room went silent, all eyes fell on Tony.

"I'm her best friend, I'm sure I can get through to her!" Tony declared.

"You think so?" Duck asked tentatively. "I'm no expert on brainwashing, but I don't know if being near the item that brainwashes for such a long time is a good thing."

"What do you mean, such a long time?" Tony asked. Duck looked surprised, then sad.

"I thought you would have known, I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about?!" Tony yelled, his anger and concern growing. He stood up, pounding his fists on the table.

"Tony, you were out for three days." said Red Guy.

Something in Tony's head cracked like breaking ice. The sound of ticking flooded his mind as his ability to tell time returned. It seemed that more than just his body had been frozen. How had he not noticed it was missing? How had he gone for so long unable to tell the time? Seconds, minutes, hours, then days filled his head. Yes, three days, it had been three days since they had left Himeros.

Outside Tony's head, the others watched nervously as Tony sank back into his chair. His face was devoid of expression, his clock hands spinning rapidly, as if trying to make up for the three lost days. Finally, the clock hands settled back to their 4:40 position.

Off to the side, Roy's hands moved faster, his bandages making quiet crinkling noises.

"Three days," Tony muttered. "She could be gone by now, exorcised from her own mind. I should have never let her come along, never let her face down Colin, never should have left her behind…"

A loud crash echoed through the room as Roy flipped the small table over. Cards fluttered to the ground as Roy hurried out the entrance to the cave.

"What?" Tony looked up as the last of the cards settled on the ground.

"Roy feels responsible for leaving Sketchbook behind." explained Duck sadly. "He knows it would have been to dangerous to bring her, but he feels like he dragged you all into this mess in the first place."

Tony frowned. Then stood up and followed Roy out the door.

* * *

Tony sat next to Roy on the orange grassy hill. He stared out over the glimmering pink water of the nearby lake, and watched as Roy skipped a white stone across the lake's surface.

"I'm sorry." Tony said, finally causing Roy to look at him. Roy gave him a look of confusion.

"Before we left to rescue you, Red Guy asked me to look out for your son. In all the confusion, I feel I neglected to look out for him. Can you forgive me?"

Roy turned to look over the water, squinting thoughtfully against the blinding shimmer, before looking back at Tony. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he stretched an arm over to pat Tony on the shoulder.

"I suppose, when things get a crazy as they did, you look back wishing you could have done something more. But in reality, there was simply nothing you could have done, and you did the best you could." Tony nodded at Roy. A look of understanding crossed Roy's face.

* * *

When they got back inside, Yellow Guy was watching Universe inspect a small wooden train. The engine and the cab were painted blue, while the chimney, bell and wheels were painted red. At the very front, the pilot was painted yellow.

"The enchantment has worn off, I'm afraid." he smiled at Yellow Guy. "Why don't you keep it?"

"R-really?" Yellow Guy's face lit up. "Thank you!"

Tony smiled as he watched Yellow Guy run to Roy to show him the train. He walked over to Universe. "You wouldn't happen to have any more of those, would you?"

Universe shook his head. "No sorry, that was the last of an old collection of enchanted toys. I picked them up back when I was traveling through space once, and I've used them sparingly, but you'd be surprised how many calamities happen out here."

Universe's face brightened. "Anyway, are you ready to go?"

"I think-" Tony paused when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Roy standing behind him.

Roy handed him a pencil, and Tony took it, confused. Roy mimed drawing over his mouth.

Tony nodded in understanding.

* * *

Tony and Red Guy, and a pair of bolt cutters, sat cramped inside a box. They had decided to wait until dark to execute their plan, but until then they had gotten as close to the building as possible. They had decided to hide until night fell, but there had only been two boxes, and neither of them wanted to stay with Meat Man. The Universe was once again waiting back at the hill.

Tony ran his thumb over the sharp point of the pencil he had brought, then quickly attempted to erase the streak of graphite from his glove.

"So," said Tony, deciding that now was probably the best time to clear up his confusion. "I really have to ask. You have no reason to be helping me or the others, now that Roy is back safely. We've caused you and the others nothing but trouble, so, why are you helping us? Is it really just because we need help?"

Red Guy sighed. "To be honest, things have really changed."

"How so?" asked Tony, now curious.

"Back when Sketchbook first showed up, I wanted nothing more than for her to leave. Yet, several days after her lesson, I found the poor thing crying in one of the cupboards. It had turned out that her lesson had not gone according to plan, and she had also been traumatized by what had happened. She was happy when we accepted her into our family, but she was even more overjoyed when you showed up. I didn't like you after what you had done to Yellow Guy and Duck, but I was happy to see she had a friend. As more and more of you showed up, somehow, despite your unusual and nasty lessons, you grew close to each other, and we grew close to you too. I mean, for Pete's sake, we started playing truth or dare with you maniacs."

Tony laughed, memories of Red Guy in a tutu playing in his head.

Red Guy laughed a little too. "But in all seriousness, we've all grown so close. You may not have made the best first impression, but you're family now, whether you like it or not."

Red Guy peeked through a hole in the crate. "It's gotten dark." he said. "Let's go save the rest of our family."

* * *

The fence guarding the building had stood no chance against the bolt cutters. Meat Man grunted as he attempted to lift the heavy door. Reluctantly, it began to raise up, grinding in protest.

"Okay," said Red Guy, as Meat Man let go of the door. It stayed in place. "You go first Tony, we'll be right behind you."

Tony nodded, then slipped under the door. The room was pitch black, and Tony squinted, trying to find Sketchbook in the darkness.

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded behind him, and the only sliver of light vanished.


	9. Chapter 9

**Not Part of the Plan**

The room wasted no time in coming to life. The red and yellow lights began to pulse, momentarily blinding Tony. He blinked rapidly and he tried to reorient himself. He felt like he was spinning through the air, the ground under his feet the only proof he was not. He involuntarily dropped the pencil he was holding, the sound of it clattering away strangely distant.

Sketchbook was no longer sitting on the stairs. She was lightly skipping toward him, the smile on her face so wide that it partially disappeared on the aria where her face was missing. There was something about her appearance that terrified Tony, though it took him a while to figure it out. Her pupils had seemed to have come… unwound. They looked like a spiral of string, spinning slowly in a counterclockwise direction. She had been in here with the brainwashing lights for as long as they had been gone. Tony shivered, was there anything left of her to save?

The intercom buzzed to life. "Ha ha, too easy." Shrignold's voice mocked. "You and those blockheads walked right into this!"

"What have you done to the others?!" Tony yelled, gently pushing Sketchbook away, as she had reached him and was slowly trying to give him a hug.

"Nothing yet," Shrignold replied. "They're currently trying to get the door back open. Fools, little do they know that I originally opened it for them!"

"You knew we were here." Tony sighed. It was not a question, it was a fact.

"Of course! We've been on high alert ever since you left." laughed Shrignold. "You may have had the element of surprise the first time, but this time I was watching."

He paused. "You know, I think it's rude of you to keep pushing your girlfriend away like that."

"She's not my girlfriend." grumbled Tony. Tony thought back to when she had dragged him through the halls. She had been full of unbelievable strength then, but he was now holding her back with one hand. He noticed that there were deep lines engraved under her eyes.

"Has she slept at all?!" Tony yelled towards the intercom.

"No," giggled Shrignold. "But how could she, she just missed you too much to sleep."

"Liar! You kept her awake!" Tony yelled.

"Well just maybe." Shrignold replied sweetly.

"Mon amour…" Whispered Sketchbook, her voice barely audible over Malcolm's grunting.

"Now, I'm going to be silent for a little bit." declared Shrignold. "I would **love** to keep taunting you, but I can tell this little argument is distracting you."

Tony gritted his teeth. So he had noticed too. Tony's anger toward Shrignold worked as a distraction from the horrible pulsing tempo of the room, but if Shrignold refused to argue back, there would be nothing left to focus on. He had to keep this going, just a little longer.

"Love is a waste of **time**!" he yelled, but there was no response. The smoke around Tony's eyes crept in, further obstructing his view.

"There is no way I'll ever fall in love with Sketchbook!" he tried again, but all he heard was the buzzing of the intercom. The smoke crept in further.

"Your mother is a worm!" he yelled in frustration.

A simple "Ho ho ho ho!" echoed across the room, and with a click the intercom switched off.

"Blast!" Tony turned back to Sketchbook, who had given up on trying to hug him and was now just standing there, watching him. She shone out against the inky blackness that clouded his eyes, and he wondered if she was all he would ever see again.

"I could never love you, never! Not like this!" he yelled at her grinning face. Somehow, she seemed to grin even wider.

"There is no way I could fall in love with you, because… because…" he stuttered, trying to compose his thoughts. "Because this isn't love!"

Sketchbook's grin faltered, and the miasma in Tony's eye receded slightly. His thoughts became more clear.

"Think back Sketchbook! All the good times we had together! The sandcastles at the beach! The comedies we watched! Those ridiculous late night games of truth or dare! What Shrignold is trying to do would take that all away! Do you think what we've seen here is really love? Is love blindly devoting yourself to another person and forgetting who you are?"

Sketchbook began to shake slightly. Her eyes darted around, unfocused on anything, trying to take in everything. The intercom violently snapped back on.

"Cut it out!" Shrignold's voice was, for the first time Tony could remember, angry. "What are you doing!?"

Tony ignored him. "Sketchbook, you're my friend! My first friend. You helped me to see that friendship wasn't a waste of my time. Please come back to me, I don't want those good times to end like this!"

A sound like breaking glass rang through the air. All at once, the rhythm stopped. With a ' _snap!_ ' the red and yellow lights were replaced with a crisp white one. Sketchbook's pupils wound together again, and she sank to the ground.

"Auggg! I can't believe it!" Yelled Shrignold. "I have been defeated by the power of… **friendship**!"

With a loud bang, the intercom fell from the wall.

* * *

Sketchbook stirred slightly on the floor. The white light licked gently at the edges of her eyelids, the peaceful silence was a welcome sound compared to pounding she had been hearing for the last few days. Her head still hurt a little bit, but it was a relief compared to crushing sensation she remembered.

A light tinking sound arose her from her sleep. It sounded like someone lightly knocking on a mug with a spoon. Her eyes fluttered open to be greeted by the friendly light. She sat silently for a moment, getting her bearings, before she turned to look for the source of the noise.

Tony was standing against one of the curved walls. He was knocking his fist onto it in different places, as if he was searching for something.

"Tony?" Sketchbook asked tentatively, memories of the past few days creeping around the edges of her mind. Tony jumped slightly, but turned to face her.

"You alright?" he asked hesitantly.

"I think so." she replied. "What happened after I blacked out?"

Tony turned back to continue knocking on the wall. "Not much really. You were very tired, so you kind of just slept." He shifted over slightly to hit another part of the wall.

"How long was I out?"

"3 hours, 26 minutes, and 14 seconds, give or take a few milliseconds." Tony replied, shifting to yet another part of the wall.

Sketchbook's eyes widened in surprise. "That long? What have you been doing this whole time?"

"Well, first I tried to take out the big lug over there." He pointed toward Malcolm. "To no avail." He added. Malcolm let out a loud drone of a laugh. "And now we've been trying to find a weak spot in these walls."

"We've?" Sketchbook asked, confused.

Tony hit the wall again, this time with a more deliberate pattern. 'Knock Knock Knock, Knock Knock Knock Knock, Knock, (pause) Knock Knock, Knock Knock Knock, (pause) Knock Knooock, Knock Knooock Knooock, Knock Knooock, Knooock Knock Knooock, Knock.'

A response came, presumably from the other side of the wall. 'Knooock Knooock Knooock, Knooock Knock Knooock.'

"Red guy knows Morse code." Tony explained. Sketchbook looked at him, wide eyed. "Yeah I know, it surprised me too."

"Actually, I'm more surprised that you know Morse code." Sketchbook said respectfully.

Tony shrugged. "I stumbled upon a misshelved book while I was learning Greek. I had a lot of free time on my hands before you came along."

Sketchbook looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

This time it was Tony's turn to look surprised. "Whatever for?"

"Well, Lamp told me how you used to prefer solitude after your lessons. I had no idea when I first met you. It was my first time teaching and I hadn't met any of the other teachers yet, so when you showed up a few years after my lesson, I was so excited to have another talking object in the house that, well, I kind of just forced you to be my friend." Sketchbook paused. "You would never have gotten sucked into all of this if it wasn't for me. You'd probably be in some library learning spanish or something."

Tony stared at Sketchbook before quickly knocking on the wall. 'Knock Knooock Knooock Knooock Knooock' He turned back and walked over to her, kneeling down to be at her level.

"You have nothing to apologize for." he said earnestly. "I was a bit hesitant when you wanted to become my friend. I simply had my way of doing things and I liked my routine. I didn't want friends, because I thought they would be a waste of my time, when I could be doing things like learning and improving my intellect. But you have made me realize something very important. I'm not going to be around forever. Eventually everything, even clocks, run out of time. I finally asked myself: 'when the time comes, and I reflect on my life, what do I want to see?' So I took some time to look back and you know what I saw?"

He paused, and looked Sketchbook directly in the eyes. "I looked back and the only things I remembered fondly were the times I spent with you, and the others. Not all of those years sitting in empty libraries reading countless books, but these past few months of spending time with friends. And Sketchbook?"

"Yes?" she asked quietly.

"Thank you for showing me how much I needed friends, before it was too late."

Sketchbook looked up at Tony, a small, relieved smile on her face. Tony grinned widely. "Además, ya sé español."

Sketchbook was silent at first, then she giggled, then laughed, then laughed a little harder. Tony began to laugh as well. Soon, to two of them were on their backs on the floor, rolling around and kicking their feet in the air. It may not have been the funniest joke, or even really a joke in general, but the two of them had been through so much in the past few days. At this moment, none of it mattered. Nothing else existed aside from the two friends who were pealing with laughter and just being happy.

The moment was over all too soon. Tony gasped for air as he wiped tears from his eyes. He sat up, grinning like a goof. Sketchbook soon hoisted herself back up too, still giggling slightly. She also began wiping tears from her eyes, but stopped and winced when she accidentally brushed the edge of her torn paper.

Tony frowned, his giddiness evaporating at the sight. He remembered the pencil that Roy had given him back at the cave, and searched around for it. He spotted it sitting on the floor, over by the entryway to the building. He stood up and walked hastily to retrieve it.

"Let's take care of this." He said to Sketchbook, who nodded solemnly. It would be hard to get the rest of the page out in one go, as so much of it was missing, but Tony knew that once it was out, I wouldn't be a problem anymore.

With shaking hands, he reached out to grip the top of the page. "Ready?"

"Mmmhmm." Affirmed Sketchbook.

"On the count of three. 1...2...3."

* * *

Tony and Sketchbook sat on the stairs underneath Malcolm. Two torn pieces of paper sat at the bottom, one engraved with a frowning pencil mouth. Sketchbook gently stroked the place on her current face that had been torn on the previous one.

"So," Sketchbook asked. "Why did you try to destroy Malcolm?"

"Humm?" Tony broke out of whatever he was thinking, the startled look fading from his face. "Well, the plan was for us to get him first, in order to free the brainwashed inhabitants."

"Oooh." Sketchbook replied, cringing slightly.

"What?" Tony asked, confused at Sketchbook's response.

"Well, you see, Malcolm here is just a lump of rock. Aren't you buddy?" Malcolm grunted in response. "You see, Shrignold uses Malcolm as a figurehead, no pun intended. All Malcolm wants is gravel."

"Gravel!" roared Malcolm, the force of his breath nearly knocking the two of them off the stairs.

"So, who is controlling the brainwashed then?" asked Tony.

"Well, the job originally belonged to that huge inanimate computer in the main room." Sketchbook explained. "But after Shrignold got Colin, he transferred the job to him, because he ran a little faster than that old behemoth."

"Are you saying that we have to take down Colin in order to save everyone?"

"Yeah, pretty much. He's basically running everything around here."

Tony pressed his face into his hands and groaned.


	10. Chapter 10

**Digital Showdown**

Tony, Sketchbook, Meat Man and Red Guy crept through the halls of the large building. It had turned out that despite no longer being brainwashed, Sketchbook still had the ability to open and close the unusual walls. The three of them were slowly making their way toward what they hoped was the center of the building. Despite the fact that they hadn't even seen another living thing since they had entered the building, Tony was still on edge.

"Something seems wrong about this," said Red Guy. "It's been nearly four hours since you freed Sketchbook. I would have thought that Shrignold would have regrouped for an attack by now."

"You're right." replied Tony, though he was more focused on the fight ahead. "Can we go over the plan one more time?" he asked meekly.

Red Guy rolled his eyes. "It's fairly simple, Meat Man and I will tackle down Colin, and you'll get the memory stick. The two of us together should have no problem taking him down."

Meat Man stopped suddenly. "Make that the two of you!" he declared. "I need to go!"

"Go where?" asked Red Guy.

"To rescue Spinach Can!" He pulled out his fork. It was buzzing slightly, and when he held it up, it was drawn towards a nearby hallway. He ran off before anyone was able to protest. "I'm coming for you, sweet pea!"

"Right, 'his soul'." said Red Guy, watching Meat Man run off. "Oh well, I should be able to handle Colin if we have the element of surprise."

* * *

Meat Man raced down the empty hall, his fork guiding him through the winding hallways. He had discovered this trick one day when Bread Boy had fallen behind the counter. The poor child had been missing for nearly a day when Meat man had noticed his fork buzzing. It had pointed him towards the place that Bread Boy had gotten stuck and they were able to save him with only minor damage to the counter. A memory of Red Guy's annoyed face drifted into this head, " _Okay, maybe major damage, but it was in my way._ "

Meat Man was the dedicated leader of the food crew, and the rest of the crew were like family to him. He had learned how to protect them, and how to make each of them happy. He had helped them discover any special talents they had, though Fridge had surprised him with the Hucailluc. Every discovery brought the crew closer together, though Tony had said that they should have know this stuff already. It didn't take Meat Man long to figure out the truth, they had been rushed, they were on their own. No preparation, no lesson plan, just the four of them. They were all he had and he would guard them with his life.

The fork pointed toward a closed wall. Meat Man pounded his fist against it, but it didn't budge.

"Blast!" he yelled. He leaned against the wall, trying to gather some extra strength. His mind went back to the house. The sound of tearing plastic, Lamps faint cry from the bedroom, followed by Laptop's and Gilbert's from the living room. Fridge yelling that they had to go. Spinach Can preparing to jump from the cupboard into his arms, when suddenly a rift appeared in the cupboard behind her. The sounds of her screaming as her utensils fell to the floor. Seeing her fingers hooked on the edge of the cupboard, before slipping off into the oily blackness. Then a piercing cold.

Meat Man could feel his anger rising. He backed away from the wall, then charged full force, breaking through with a loud crash. Stinging pain assaulted his senses as he tried to get his bearings.

"M-meat Man?" the voice belonged to Lamp, who was gripping Spinach Can's hands tightly. "Spinach, wake up it's Meat Man!"

"Lamp, whats going on?" Meat Man asked, cringing from the pain.

"It's the hearts! Break the hearts!" Lamp called back.

Meat Man spotted them, the yellow hearts that lined the walls. He pulled together his strength and punched the nearest one. It cracked easily and faded to black. Instantly, some of the pain subsided. He continued punching them until they had all gone dark, and the pain vanished completely.

Lamp breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Spinach Can's hands. She yawned and looked around the room. Her eyes took in the destruction before finally landing on Meat Man. "Pa!" she cried out, and Meat Man ran up and hugged her.

"Sweet Pea!" They two of them stood embracing, happy to be together again. Lamp stood up and wiped the sweat off his forehead, smiling at the two of them. He then frowned, looking around at the destroyed hearts.

"Ugg, I think I'll crack into my emergency whisky reserve when we get home, and put this whole thing **way** behind me." He muttered.

Suddenly, a red light filled the room. "Intruder alert! Self destruct in t-minus 10...9...8…"

"Sweet mother of dreams!" Lamp yelled. Meat Man picked him up and began barreling down the hallway.

* * *

"This should be it!" Sketchbook called from ahead. The Red Guy and Tony ran up to meet her. "Ready?" she asked.

"On three." said Red Guy.

"1...2...3…" they counted together. Sketchbook pressed her hand against the wall and it faded away.

The large room was completely dark, save for a few blinking lights on the monstrous computer. The three crept in, hoping that perhaps Colin was sleeping. Their hopes were dashed, however, when a spotlight snapped on. It landed directly on the stage with the chaise longue, and on top of it sat Colin, who was cradling Laptop in his arms.

"Hello, _friends_." His voice was bitterly cold. He glared at the three of them with an icy contempt. "Shrignold told me you were coming, but I didn't want to believe him. Looks like I was wrong about you."

"W-what?" Tony tried to keep his voice steady, but it cracked all the same.

"I thought you were good people. A bit rough around the edges, but still, good people." He stroked Laptops head gently, and she muttered something rather rude under her breath. Once again, Colin took no heed. "But now you've come to steal my love away."

"No, we haven't Colin, honest!" Sketchbook tried to reason.

"Oh, really." Colin grumbled. "So you haven't come for **this** , then?" He jerked his head to the side, pointing at the memory stick. Sketchbook's guilty look was all the confirmation he needed. He placed Laptop next to him on the longue.

He snapped his fingers, and the door they had come through lit up vibrantly. They could hear a rumble in the distance, and all of the sudden dozens of brainwashed objects, animals, and puppets began pouring through the archway.

"Oh for the love of-" Red Guy ran to the door and began swinging his fists, knocking several creatures back, but for every swing, more brainwashed creatures would fill in to take their place.

Sketchbook tried to take advantage of Colin's averted focus to charge at him, but as she got closer, she felt an all too familiar crushing sensation in her head, and was forced to make a retreat. "I can't get too close! I'm still connected to him and if I try to take him head on, he'll brainwash me again!"

"Looks like you're on your own, Tony!" Red Guy yelled. Tony groaned.

"Okay, I can do this!" Tony tried to psyche himself up as he climbed the stairs to the stage. "I'm going to have to take him head on!"

Tony approached Colin, who stood up to face him. Instantly, one of the many problems with Tony's plan made itself apparent. Tony wasn't particularly tall, and clocked out at about 5 feet. In his digital form, Colin towered over him at about 7 feet. Tony shook as Colin leered down at him, grinning menacingly.

Colin raised both his hands, and attempted to shove Tony off the stage. Tony raised his hands to meet, and soon the two of them were locked in a shoving match. Tony could feel his feet sliding across the floor, and he dug his heels into the rubber grip at the edge of the stage. "Okay, I doubt I can beat you with brute strength, but maybe strategy will work." Tony decided.

"Perhaps," mused Colin. "But I should warn you, I've never lost a game of chess." Colin raised one of his blocky feet, and slammed it down on Tony's foot. Tony cringed, attempting to keep his grip on the stage. Colin ground his foot into Tony's, and finally shoved it off the edge. Tony lost his balance and was sent bouncing down the stairs.

When he finally hit the bottom, he attempted to straighten himself out, but found that his movements were very sluggish. Suddenly Sketchbook grabbed his arm and dragged him across the floor.

"Sketchbook what-" he stated to ask, when suddenly he heard a loud crash. He raised his head to see that Colin had jumped from the stage, right onto the place that he had been lying just moments before. The tiles beneath Colin's feet were cracked. Tony shivered. " _That could have been me!_ "

Sketchbook dragged him to a far side of the room. "Thank you." said Tony, relieved. He tried to stand up, but found he could barely move. "What in time's name is wrong with me?"

"Hold still!" shouted Sketchbook, running around behind him and propping him up. "One of your batteries fell out!"

As Sketchbook attempted to remedy the situation, Tony was stuck watching as the 7 foot tall computer began charging at him. "Sketchbook, hurry up!" he fretted.

"I'm trying! There!" she yelled triumphantly. Tony felt his mobility return, and he grabbed Sketchbook and threw her across the room. She landed with an "Oof!" as Tony dodged Colin's attack just in time.

"Sorry!" he yelled.

Sketchbook gave him a thumbs up. "S'all good!"

Colin, in the meantime, was trying to break Newton's first law in an attempt to turn around and face Tony. When he finally did manage to get turned around, he was greeted with Tony tackling him down. He landed with a crash on his back as Tony attempted to make a grab for the memory stick, but Colin managed to keep it just out of reach.

"Red Guy? Can you lend me a hand?" Tony yelled.

"No!" said Red Guy, loudly.

"Can you lend me something?!" Tony yelled back.

With a loud clang, a spade landed next to Tony. "Do you need to dig a hole?" Sammy asked.

Tony rolled his eyes, but picked up Sammy anyway. He attempted to use him to reach the memory stick, but Colin simply shifted his head a little further away. Tony put Sammy back down in frustration. It was then that he noticed something odd. Tony could feel his metal gears being both attracted and repulsed by Colin's body.

While he was contemplating this, Colin used his distraction to hook a foot underneath Tony. He kicked him off, sending him flying backwards. While Colin got back to his feet, Tony grabbed Sammy and began to run. As he ran, he began putting the pieces together.

No one had really known what kept Colin's head in the air when he was in is digital form, and with his aversion to touching, no one had dared to get close enough to find out. Now that Tony thought about it, it should have seemed obvious. A magnet, or more likely, a magnet and a superconductor, repelled to keep his head in the air, but attracted to keep it firmly attached. Quantum Levitation. The magnet was likely small as to not cause damage to Colin's hard drive. How the magnet was kept cold enough for constant Quantum Levitation was still anyone's guess, but this was enough information for Tony to begin hatching a plan.

He couldn't use Sammy to attack Colin, as they were trying to rescue him in once piece, but he had no qualms with attacking the much bigger computer in the room. He slammed Sammy into it, creating a good sized hole. He used the spade to continue burrowing in, hoping to find what he was looking for before Colin found him. He could hear Colin crashing behind him. Colin had to make the tunnel bigger in order to fit, which bought Tony a little bit of time.

He quickly found the supplies he needed. He wrapped a couple of wires around Sammy, which he hoped were somehow connected to a power source. He turned to face the incoming computer. He had to hope that he had built this right, and he had to aim carefully if he didn't want to accidentally erase Colin hard drive.

Finally, Colin came bursting through the machinery. " _134 cycles of learning, don't fail me now!_ " He thought as he thrust the spade between Colin's head and body.

Just as he had planned, the electrical current running through Sammy had turned him into a magnet. Both the magnet in Colin's head and the superconductor in his body were repulsed by the makeshift magnet. Colin's head slid backwards and landed with a thud on the floor behind him. Tony gave Colin's body a quick shove to the side, causing it to stumble a little bit away from the head. Tony looked down at Colin's scowling face, before reaching out and grasping the memory stick.

"Checkmate."

* * *

When Tony, Colin and Sammy finally emerged from the computer, they were greeted with an interesting sight. A large hole had been blasted into one of the walls, and a line of puppets, animals, and talking objects were slowly funneling out. Sammy went off to follow them while Tony approached Red Guy to find out what was going on.

"They're all free now," said Red Guy. "Universe has opened a portal thingy, and they're all going home."

Tony watched for a bit as Lamp, Red Guy, and Meat Man (who was carrying Spinach Can), worked crowd control, getting everyone out in an orderly fashion. Then he turned to watch as Colin went to apologize to the biggest victim of his plight.

"I'm sorry Laptop." Colin apologised, kneeling down to be at her level. "I can see now how uncomfortable my actions made you, even if I couldn't control them. Can you forgive me?"

Laptop looked at him uncertainly. "You're sure you don't," She spat the word. "' **Love** ' me anymore?"

Colin raised a cursor hand and placed a gloved hand on the number pad of his keyboard. "On my word, no more 'Love' on this hard drive."

"Okay, I think I can forgive you, on one condition."

"What's that?"

" **Never** write poetry again!"

Colin laughed heartily. "I swear I won't!" he declared as he helped her down from the longue. "Now let's go home! I think we've all had enough adventure to last us until June 21st!"


	11. Final Chapter

**Because We Love You**

Tony, Sketchbook, Red Guy, and Universe stood together on the hill, looking out at the unpopulated city one last time. They had stayed behind to do one last sweep of the community before they left, just to make sure no one was left behind.

The city looked so strange now. It looked almost brighter, despite being empty of life, as if it was relieved to have it's oppressed population returned safely to their homes, where their lives could continue. Though it was silent, lacking the gentle plodding of footsteps, Tony could swear he heard a soft hum echoing on the wind, like a sigh of relief. This planet would be left to the gophers, and eventually the great city would break down and become a part of the planet, it's horrible legend just a faint memory. Only four people were left, the last to leave this planet to the history books.

Tony glanced over the streets, and caught a glimpse of something that made him cringe. " _Make that five._ "

Shrignold fluttered up to them, panting and gasping.

"You here to surrender?" asked Red Guy. "You can still come home with us, no questions asked, if you do. The love cult already left, but they said they want you back."

Shrignold glared up at Red Guy, still wheezing slightly. "I don't give up so easy," he croaked. "I can still take you, all of you, and start over. I can build my city twice as grand!" He charged at Red Guy, who batted him away effortlessly.

"You did an impressive job, building this city without anyone noticing," said Red Guy. "But your critical mistake was when you took Roy, and then Sketchbook. No one messes with my friends." He pulled Sketchbook and Tony close. "My family. Now we're leaving, with or without you."

Shrignold yelled in frustration. "I don't need your pity! I can make it back myself!" He reached into the air and grasped it, it folded roughly and reluctantly. Then he reached forward, and a tiny sliver of reality appeared in his other hand. "Watch me!"

"I wouldn't-" Universe started to protest, but it was too late. With an earth shattering bang, Shrignold disappeared.

"That's not a good sign…" muttered Universe.

* * *

"Yes yes, very unprofessional." muttered Universe, as he, Sketchbook, and Tony stared down at the block of ice that encased Shrignold.

"We'll take it from here." sighed Rabbit Boy. He watched as Beaver and Unicorn hoisted the frozen butterfly up to Frog Boy and Special One. They tossed him onto the back of the cloud they were riding, who grumbled in protest.

Red Guy ran out from the house and handed Rabbit Boy a blow dryer. "Here, give this a try."

"Thanks." He took it bitterly, then scrambled onto the cloud with the others.

"Bye!" Special One waved enthusiastically as the cloud took off. "Can we go back to the city someday? It was nice!" she asked Rabbit Boy.

He pressed his fingers to his forehead and sighed. "Never again!"

* * *

Tony hung peacefully on the wall, gazing out a nearby window at the stars. It was hard to believe that so much time had passed since he had last hung here. He could feel his eyelids drifting down slowly, but he was not yet ready to sleep.

He took a quick glance around the living room. Colin was sleeping peacefully on the desk, and Laptop was lying closed on a nearby shelf. On another shelf, Gilbert and Marlee were snuggled together, dozing peacefully. Tony couldn't help but smile at the sight of them. Not all of Shrignold's attempts at matchmaking had resulted in failure. Tony had seen a few new couples exit through the portal together, determined to bring something positive out of their horrible experience.

Tony listened to the sound of snoring emanating from from the kitchen. The food crew had decided to spend the night together in the kitchen, not wanting to be separated after being apart for so long.

Tony yawned. "All's well that ends well." he muttered. His eyes drifted closed, and he began to feel sleep overtake him.

A light creaking noise gently awakened him once more. The door to the kitchen, which had been closed to muffle the food crews snoring, had been cracked open. The soft beam of a flashlight drifted into the room, it's bearer, Red Guy, not far behind.

"Red, wha…" he mumbled, but Red Guy cut him off with a silencing gesture.

"Someone wanted to see you." he said quietly. He walked up and placed Sketchbook carefully on the end table under Tony. "Good night, you two." he said as he left the room once more. The door closed with a soft click.

"Sketchbook?" Tony asked, slightly more awake.

"Sorry." whispered Sketchbook.

"Nah, it's good. Is something wrong?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Why not?"

Sketchbook sighed. "I couldn't stop thinking."

"About what?"

Sketchbook hesitated. "What would you have done if you couldn't save me?"

Tony was caught off guard by the question. "Well, I… why?" he stuttered.

"I'm sorry!" Sketchbook replied quickly. "Never mind, just go back to sleep." She paused for a time, before sighing and continuing. "I've just gotten to thinking, you're the closest friend I've got. My first friend actually. You said it yourself, time is short. How much time do you think we have? What if we run out too soon or-"

Without a word Tony slid down from the wall and gently placed a hand on Sketchbooks head. He knelt down to face Sketchbook eye to eye. She closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears that were gathering.

"I understand, I felt the same way you do now when I had to confront you in your brainwashed state. Everything had happened so fast. But I know for certain I wouldn't have stopped trying to save you until every second I have was spent." Sketchbook looked up at Tony, who smiled. "So put your fears at ease for now. We have no idea what's to come, so it's best to take it one day at a time."

Sketchbook smiled, and Tony lifted her gently from the table. He sat on the nearby armchair, with her resting lightly in his arm. The wall was more comfortable to sleep on, but he could make an exception for tonight. He felt his eyes drifting closed once again.

"Tony?"

"Yes, Sketchbook?"

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Sketchbook."


End file.
